THE VICKERS

Chapter 14

"Why were we running?" I asked when we finally stopped.

We probably ran about a half a mile down a road that seemed to lead away from the city. My chest was heaving, and it burned when I breathed. A sign that running wasn't my thing. The car didn't bother to follow us but had turned around. I wondered where he could have gone? Was he afraid of us?

We found a small wooden shed by the side of the road, that was tilting slightly to the left. We each pulled out our flashlights and shined it on the structure and its surroundings. I was cautious about entering, afraid that it might collapse as Devin opened the door. He entered first, gun in hand, ready for whatever.

I observed the surrounding. There were no other buildings around and the shrubbery had overgrown. It's branches finding it's way through cracks between the planks. I shuddered at the eeriness of the location.

When he cleared the building he called me in. The shed was lined with empty shelves and coated with cobwebs. Dust particles danced little light we shined. Some of them found their way into my nostrils and I had to put my finger at my nose to stop the sneeze. There wasn't any furniture, except a dusty desk to the back, and a few concrete blocks. My guess is that this was a workshop of some kind when it was being used.

Devin's clothes were still soaked he changed immediately, pulling off his black t-shirt and replacing it with another black t-shirt. He changed into his only other pair of jeans and ring out his torn black sneakers. The islets were all gone and was literally being held together by threads. He finished off the look with his signature black hoodie.

I looked at my own clothes that weren't as tattered as his. When we got new second-hand clothes from our previous foster homes, Devin always let me have the ones in better condition. When he was done changing he spoke, barely above a whisper.

"I pushed the guy off the bridge and I think the other guy saw me running. So that's why we ran. He wasn't following us though."

"I know. We literally ran for how long away from the city and no one was chasing us. Do you know where we are?"

"No. That's why you should keep your fucking voice down," he whispered. I took a deep breath, I needed to be more mindful of the severity of our situation.

"What are we gonna do?" I asked.

"We aren't gonna do anything. I'm gonna meet Tino and give him this," he said grabbing the envelope from the bag.

"What does Tino want with that? What's in it?" I asked.

"Don't know and don't care."

"Well, I wanna know," I said grabbing the envelope from him to open it. He snatched it back just as fast.

"No! We got the money to get Dahlia back, that's all that matters. I don't give a fuck about Tino's business."

"Well, you should. Tino didn't even want to send his henchmen to get this. He sent us. If he's so powerful now, why didn't he get it himself?"

"I don't know Darius stop asking questions. Questions get you killed."

"How much do you want to bet that this has something to do with Dahlia? That somehow this envelope has a clue. And then he's probably gonna make us pay to get it."

"A clue? This isn't a fucking game! Our lives are at stake and you're not gonna add to it by sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."

"We just stole from Fitz, we're probably already dead." He shook his head. He knew I had a point.

To my surprise, he ripped the envelop open. He turned it upside down so the contents fell into his hand. Inside was no document or money, it was a cassette tape.